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The 21st Century Commercial Pilot

There are major changes that the aviation sector has witnessed lately. Do you wish to become an airline pilotin the 21st century? Well, then things are quite different now.

Previously, many commercial pilots received their initial training in the military, as civilian pilot training programs were expensive and relatively rare. This tradition has changed significantly in the 21st century, today the main route to become a commercial pilot is enrolling yourself for a flight school. The 21st century has also witnessed a lot of significant changes in the aviation sector, which duly affects the employment opportunities for pilots. New ways and advancements have been seen in the the commercial sector that are leading to great developments.

Let’s begin with understanding the

Indian Market Overview

The ever increasing population, their aspirations, rapid economic growth and higher disposable incomes are the factors that drive the industry potential of the aviation sector in India. Currently India stands on the 9th position for aviation market in the world. With several government initiatives, the country aims at becoming the 3rd largest aviation market. This vision is also quickly turning into a reality because of aspects such as, drop in the prices of aircraft turbine fuel in the Indian aviation industry, visa reforms and subsequent increase in foreign tourist arrivals.

Aviation Trends that can enhance your career

A new innovation has come up with the airline SpiceJet. Pilots here could be flying a totally different aircraft: 10-14 seat seaplanes operating along India’s 7,000km coastline. SpiceJet is considering a deal to buy 100 Quest Kodiak seaplanes. The budget carrier recently conducted the second phase of the seaplane trials. Seaplanes offer the potential to connect places which cannot otherwise be accessed through air travel, not only along the coast but also using inland waterways.

Recent research says, India’s aviation industry is said to become the third-largest market in the world with regards to departures by 2019, and job creation for pilots, crew members and several other realms by 2027.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given approval for 18 new airports in the country, which include several states and cities from India. Some of those places are, Navi Mumbai (Mumbai), Mopa (Goa), Hasan (Karnataka), Durgapur (West Bengal) etc.

It is said that, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) will operationalize around 50 airports in India. Also, 200 low-cost airports are proposed to be developed by 2035. Newly built airports are the chance for more aircrafts being able to operate, this leads to new routes to the pilots who wish to fly.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), the implementing agency, has awarded 325 routes to 15 airlines and helicopter operators under the RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme). This opens new ways to fly and enhances connectivity to several places.

Boeing the famous aircraft manufacturer is projecting a demand for 41,000 new commercial aircrafts and 617,000 pilots over the next 20 years. With this primitive commercial airliners and general aviation aircraft will continue to dominate the skies in the near future.

Also new technology will certainly change the face of the aviation sector:

Eviation, a startup company based in Israel, unveiled its all-electric light aircraft, named the “Alice Commuter”. The aircraft is said to use distributed propulsion with one main pusher propeller at the tail and two pusher propellers at the wingtips. A total of 6,000 pounds of lithium-ion batteries provide power for the Alice. It is designed to carry up to nine passengers for a range of 600 miles. Eviation, believes it will move its electric aircraft from prototype to certification by next year. It will most probably start performing its first commercial flights by 2021. The company says it is in talks with regional operators about the “Alice Commuter”.

A least “conceptual” kind of any aircraft on the list, the VSR700 optionally piloted vehicle by Airbus Helicopters has already begun autonomous flight trials. It is scheduled to make its first flight in 2018. VSR 700 features a flight control system that Airbus describes as a “totally digital, multi-channel system.” It also comes provided with optical sensors and a maritime/land radar system.

Several initiatives, just as mentioned above, are leading to the growth in the aviation sector are in all increasing the opportunities pilots have in hand.

Types of Career options you can choose from

Airline Pilots – Fly for any domestic or international airlines.

Corporate Pilots- Fly the niche, high end airplanes for the rich and the wealthy.

Military Pilots– Fly specialized aircrafts to transport equipment and to accomplish combat missions.

Cargo Pilots– Fly for all types of cargo airlines. Some of them being, FedEx, UPS etc.

Aerial Firefighter Pilots– A contract or a seasonal job that can be combined with other options.

Training

Great expertise and specialization is needed to become a pilot. It requires knowledge of air navigation, comprehension of climatic reports, easy operation of electronic and mechanical equipments, flying the aircraft under all circumstances, and being a guide to the flight crew and passengers under climatic and certain emergency situations.

This job role comes with great responsibility. Discipline, patience, punctuality, commitment and self-confidence are some of the vital qualities one must own.